1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color photographic light-sensitive material having a high sensitivity, a high sharpness, and an improved print quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a demand has arisen for silver halide light-sensitive materials, particularly those for photographing, to have a high sensitivity, a high color reproducibility, and a high sharpness.
As a means for improving the color reproducibility and sharpness, use of compounds represented by formula (XI) used in the present invention, which will be described later in detail, is proposed in, for example, Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application (hereinafter referred to as "JP-A") 60-185950, JP-A-61-233741, JP-A-62-151850, JP-A-63-163454 and 63-281160. These compounds enhance the interlayer effect and an edge effect, resulting in some improvement in the color reproducibility and sharpness. However, sufficient interlayer effect and edge effect can not be attained unless the development inhibitors are released from the compounds in an amount sufficient to inhibit the development, and a desirable interlayer effect can not be obtained unless light-sensitive layers to be inhibited of the development are developed to a proper degree. Therefore, sufficient effects can not be imparted to all the exposed regions, and the sensitivity is slightly lowered in obtaining such effects. Further, in a usual layer arrangement, in which a red-sensitive layer containing a cyan coupler, a green-sensitive layer containing a magenta coupler, and a blue-sensitive layer containing a yellow coupler are arranged on a support in the order mentioned from the support, the above-mentioned compounds can not exert sufficient interlayer effect between these layers, and the sensitivity of the green-sensitive layer is lowered, since the red-sensitive and blue-sensitive layers are too spaced apart from each other.
JP-A-61-221748 and West German Laid-Open Application 3815469A, for example, describe that it is possible to obtain an effect similar, in terms of photographic performance, to an interlayer effect from the red-sensitive layer to the blue-sensitive layer by using a yellow colored cyan coupler in the red-sensitive layer. However, the use of the couplers alone as described in these patent documents can not achieve a desired effect over the entire exposed regions. In addition, known yellow colored cyan couplers is small the molecular extinction coefficient of the yellow dyes formed therefrom, and has low coupling activity.
Further, JP-A-3-265845 discloses to add a yellow coupler to a red-sensitive layer in order to improve color reproducibility. This technique can correct an overburdened interimage effect to adjust the hue to some extent. However, the yellow coupler, if used in an excessive amount, lowers the saturation, which is not sufficient in improving the color reproducibility, and thus a satisfactory print quality can not be obtained.